localism: Localism talked about in geek's blog: Anarchogeek - 08/08/08 08:52 AM
Being mentioned in business publications and blogs is always nice, but nothing equals the sheer joy of having a developer/geek, who's in the know, write about your company in his blog.  Developer/geeks have an uncanny ability to measure the pulse of the up and coming, and I've found that if you can please this sub-sect it's usually a very good indication you are on the right track.  So it is with great excitement that I bring to you Localism's first hard core, non real estate industry related, geek blog write up.  I highly recommend clicking through and reading the complete article.
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localism: Localism against Trulia and Zillow COMBINED: Month 1 - 08/07/08 04:03 AM
"In 24 months Localism will have more traffic than Trulia and Zillow combined."  Jonathan Washburn July 28, 2008
Here are the month one results. In all honesty I expected the first month traffic for Localism to be a down month due to Google having to reindex the entire site.  Turns out I was wrong; Localism grew by over 50%!

But we still have a long ways to go.  Good thing both Trulia and Zillow shrank this month.

 
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localism: Sneak peek: The NEW New Localism - 07/30/08 08:30 PM
As Bob alluded to yesterday in his post about the Localism land rush schedule, we have been diligently following all of the conversations on ActiveRain about our members' likes and dislikes of the new Localism; we have taken your feedback and turned it into the "NEW New Localism" which will be launching before the end of August!
Without further ado here is a screenshot of what we are working on: (click the picture for a full resolution version)

Although it's highly unusual for a web company to reveal super top secret information like this to the public over a month … (125 comments)

localism: 9 things about Localism - 07/28/08 04:25 AM
1. In 24 months Localism will have more traffic than Trulia and Zillow combined. (That's not an entirely fair prediction since Trulia and Zillow are focused solely on real estate, whereas Localism encompasses everything local.)
2. Where ActiveRain gives real estate professionals a chance to talk to consumers, Localism will give real estate professionals a chance to talk with consumers.
3. Top Neighbor positioning is always free and based solely on a member's contribution to a community.
4. Being the community sponsor does not mean you own the community.
5. Being a community sponsor will give you additional exposure; Just like … (98 comments)

localism: What happens if someone else sponsors your community on Localism? - 07/27/08 03:45 PM
I just received this comment in an email and thought it would be good to answer it to the community as a whole:
"We would be very interested in sponsoring the communities we've focused on (listed communities removed) - of course we'd love to have "x city" too but not sure we can "buy enough communities" to get there.
I'm happy you guys are going to make some $$$ - selfishly I hope we still end up with a presence on localism too." I have heard this sentiment more than a few times over the last few weeks and it needs … (14 comments)

localism: Removing skyscraper ad on Localism - 07/11/08 05:31 AM
Just a quick note to thank everyone for their feedback on the skyscraper ad. I tend to agree that the mix of advertisers takes away from the user experience. Expect the ad to be removed from the site sometime later today.
         
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localism: Localism Q&A: Official Answers - 07/10/08 08:43 PM
Question: I have invested years creating content for Localism, what happened to all of it?
Answer: All of your content is still there! You, and Google, will always be able to find all of your posts on your personal blog page on Localism. For example this is Deborah Burns page http://localism.com/agents/deborahsseattlehomes
Localism now features new and improved blog pages for every region in the US and Canada.  For a post to show up on one of these pages it has to be approved by one of our human editors.  Right now about 10% of all posts submitted to Localism are being … (265 comments)

localism: New Localism launch date announced: July 9th - 07/03/08 11:52 AM
 

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localism: Localism: From Beta and Beyond - 07/02/08 09:32 AM
(I wrote this article over a year ago when we launched Localism in its BETA form. With the pending launch of the New Localism, it's still very much applicable ~ Jonathan)
~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~
The end game in real estate blogging is blogging about your local geographical area of expertise. 
Why blog about the real estate industry? Why blog about the latest real estate technology that was just announced?  How is it going to generate you business? 
It isn't going to generate you much unless you are a real estate coach, … (46 comments)

localism: 10 steps to Localism success - 06/30/08 07:34 PM

 
1. Write about some place local:  The smaller the region the better.  A community post is generally more valuable than a city post, and a city post is better than a county post. The more specific your post, the higher likelihood it will return higher search engine results.
2. Provide original and interesting content: Actually say something.  Don't just link off to other web pages.
3. Post lots of pictures: There is nothing that captures the spirit of a place better than a picture. Except... Video.
4. Take a video: Videos of communities will be all the rage starting … (120 comments)

localism: Real estate agents are not the gatekeepers - 06/11/07 11:35 AM
It always irks me when I hear the phrase the "agents are the gatekeepers"! That is ridiculous.  The lead generators are the gatekeepers.  The agents are the information.  To me the future of real estate marketing is all about communicating local market knowledge as far and wide as possible.  Pat Kitano has been providing the most consistent coverage on this fundamental change in real estate marketing. If I was an agent or managed a real estate brokerage I would be betting the farm on this upcoming trend.
Check out Pat's post he published today on this
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localism: Featured Photo Winner #3 - 02/10/07 08:42 AM
Wow! Angela Haralson knocks our socks off with some amazing photos of Oregon's coast line with her series of pictures on Curry County's Gold Beach. Well done Angela!
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localism: Featured Photo Winner (300 Points) - 02/05/07 03:21 PM
In honor of the great content that is being uploaded to Localism and all of the effort that is being invested in it, I am going to periodically feature what I believe is the top photo of the day. I will be rewarding the member that contributed the photo with at least 300 bonus points!
Today's Featured Photo was uploaded by Shannon Elizabeth.
(She has no photo on her profile but we love her anyways!)
The photo can be found in New Paltz, Ulster County, New York 
Congrats Shannon! Our first Featured Photo winner. … (44 comments)

localism: Recently added Localism Photos - 02/05/07 03:15 PM
Recently the crack ActiveRain development team snuck in another feature that I think is pretty cool and is worth a mention. In an effort to encourage Rainer's participation on our soon to be launched Localism site we made the new photos section on the Blog Dashboard clickable.
 
 
 
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